The government has decided to extend the deadline for applying for conversion of Person of Indian Origin (PIO) cards to Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards from June 30 to December 31, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced.

Swaraj said in her annual press conference, that, "I feel that the conversion will not be completed by June 30. So we have decided to extend the last date to December 31."  Previously, the government granted an extension from March 31 to June 30 this year.

"There will be no charge for conversion during this period. So I will suggest those, who are seeking to convert their PIO cards to OCI cards, use this time line. I want this conversion to be completed by December 31," she said.

According to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the OCI and PIO cards will be merged and the Indian diaspora will be given maximum possible benefits.

Also Read: NRIs can now apply online for NPS through eNPS!

Nandini